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Here, now, today, we are present to Calvary's Sacrifice. Christ, Really Present, prays to the Father for sinners today, just as He did on Calvary; and we can unite our prayers and works and sufferings with His, to the Father.
People who are trapped in a particular sin or sinful way of life are as if walking through a great fog, unable to see their steps clearly. When we help them by our prayers and sacrifices, we help to clear away the fog, and enable some to see the Abyss into which they might have fallen, had they continued in their sins.
Christ our God acted with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to give life to us. As human beings, each person consisting of body and soul together, we can be certain that Christ likes us to value our bodies, and the loveliness of human beings, though not to give in to self-worship.
Christ is our Creator, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Because of His sincere love for us, we can be sure that whenever He has seen someone suffer - especially the martyrs - it has almost broken His heart to see it, though it has been necessary as part of the victory over evil.
Christ our Saviour is touched to heart - deeply touched - by all the suffering He sees. Every person who suffers, even those whose sufferings were caused by their own fault, can be certain of Christ's sympathy and compassion. Even when people are not healed, they should believe that Christ can bring good out of evil.
It is the Will of God that people act with reverence and respect in church, in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament, in a sacred space consecrated for prayer. By noisiness and disrespectful behaviour, people give no honour to God and make it difficult for fellow-Catholics to pray.
Once Christ had become a man, we learned how precious is humanity to God. We are all brothers and sisters to Christ and to one another; and each of us should treat others with respect, as Christ treated people in His earthly life-time.
The little child who was born of Mary is the Divine Saviour Who is worthy of all the glory we can offer Him today in our churches. In crossing the threshold we are in a sacred space, consecrated for the praise of the Blessed Trinity. What God always wants to see in our hearts is the simplicity and humility which were in the heart of the infant Jesus.
Children today marvel at stories of wizards, and secret formulas; but a greater marvel is the transformation of a weak person into a Saint, by the grace of Christ. Our 'formula' is the morning offering. Our heroism is to give glory to God not to ourselves, and the Mystery we speak of is not for a select few. Everyone is invited to enter the Mystery which is God.
Despite their pain and remorse, the Holy Souls in Purgatory are happy to know of the great feasts of the Church, such as Christmas. They know that their present safety is due to the life of Christ, born on earth to die for our sins. They pray with us at every Mass, in and through Christ their Saviour.
Whether we are healthy or disabled, Christ told me that when we pray before the tabernacle, where He dwells, it is as though each of us is like a child sitting on the steps beneath His Heavenly throne, enjoying His company as He enjoys our conversation.
We are not wrong to be saddened by the sloppy and careless behaviour we often witness at Mass, which is a meeting of Heaven and earth in which honour is given to the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit. The Blessed Trinity deserves to receive the best we can offer.
When there has been a death, or a tragedy for the nation, it is important that all who mourn, or work for justice, or show sympathy for others, or demonstrate for change, open their hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, and refuse entry to the spirit of hatred, lies and malice which is Satan.
A government leader should be like a father, acting towards his people as a good father of a family acts, encouraging mutual understanding, and protecting them, always acting justly, in a spirit of service not pride.
A good leader should always ask himself what effect his words are having upon the ordinary man who listens to him. Is the leader holding out hope of peace and justice; does he encourage the man towards co-operation in goodness, and set him a good example, or is he leading him astray?
God the Father gave us a Child at Christmas, for a special purpose - our Salvation. A further purpose was to show us that every infant is precious in His sight. Every child has been given life by God at conception; and those who reject those little lives are rejecting God's gift and insulting the Good Creator.
No-one dies and leaves earthly life at a moment that has occurred by accident. No-one leaves earthly life one second before or after the moment decreed by the Father, Who loves us all and governs our lives, and the whole Universe.
Christ is pleased to see the traditional form of the Mass encouraged, yet Christ is Really Present in His Risen glory, after the Consecration, in every valid Mass offered by a Catholic priest, whether the words used are the traditional Canon in Latin by a priest facing, with the people, towards God the Father, or by a priest using the more recent form of words, as the priest stands behind the altar.
It gives joy to Christ to see His own people treasure the traditional form of Mass, and to see them encouraging those of the Clergy who value the Sacred Tradition.
The Reason for Christmas: Christ was born on earth, God made man, because human beings were trapped in their sins, since the sins of our first parents. We could not save ourselves, but were like people behind a barred window, captive on a sinking ocean liner.
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